Improvement in button-hole guards



G. W. P RENTIOE. Button-Hole Guard;

No. 215,541. Patented May 20,1879.

N. PE ERS, PHOTO-UTHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D c.

ton-holes in shoes and other wearing apparel Nrrnn GEORGE W. PRENTIOE, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUTTON-HOLE GUARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,541, dated May 20, 1879; application filed January 31, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PRENTIOE, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State ofRhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button- Hole Edgings or Guards for Shoes or other WVearin g Apparel; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention is a device for protecting butfrom distortional strain and consequent rapid wear in use.

It consists in providing a guard of flexible metal that will present from the face side of the leather or cloth a neat edging, to be secured by means of pointed or sharpened tongues, to be formed with it, which pass through the leather and cloth, or the material composing the shoe-upper, to be clamped or clinched on the inside against an interposing plate.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a face view of a button-hole, showing my edging or guard following the entire periphery of the opening. Fig. 2 is an inside view of the same. Fig. 3 is a section through the button hole, 8.20., on line .00 w of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a face view of a button-hole, showing the edge in part only protected. Fig. 5 is a section on line 3/ y of same. Fig. 6 is a face view of a buttolrhole with the edging extending down about twothirds of the length of it. Fig. 7 shows a face view of my device as applied to the head of a button-hole.

Similar reference-letters indicate like parts in all of the figures.

Referring to drawings, A is the button-hole; a, the face of the guard or edging I), the tongues or points c, the under plates, and d the material over which the guard or edging is placed.

In the manufacture of shoes it is a matter of no little importance to provide button-holes that will be proof against common wear and tear and strain caused by the pressure of the foot in walking, or in the use of ordinary appliances for forcing the buttons into their holes. This is particularly desirable when the leather or material of which the shoe is composed is weak or liable to tear.

With my device, in the several forms pre sented, I provide a means for preventing this extraordinary wear and tear with but a trifling cost to the manufacturer.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of my drawings I show the button-hole edged its entire perimeter, excepting at the sharp point, which I leave free to relieve it from being too rigid while the button is being forced in its place. In this application of my device an interposing plate is provided to rest against the material of the shoe, to form a bearing for the tongues b when they are turned and clinched down.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a modified form, which requires less material in its construction, and though protecting only a small part of the button-hole edge would, in many cases, be sufficient for practical purposes.

The application of my device is so simple that an explanation of it is hardly necessary. The button-hole being formed in the usual way, the points I) of the upper plate, being bent at right angles to the face of said plate, are forced through the material of the shoe. The plate 0, provided with incisions to suit the points of the face-plate, is placed over said points, and pressed to bear against the under side of the shoe material. The points I) are now bent hard down against said plate 0 to complete the guard.

I am aware of patent to Dietrich, No. 56,190, in which is shown a button-hole guard formed of a single plate incised with slots which extend toward the edge of the face and down the return of said guard toward its spread edge, which incisions are for the purpose of allowing an expansion of its angle while it is being fixed to the fabric, and to such construction I make no claim.

I am also aware of Patent N 0. 208,296, in which is shown a plate formed with two angles, to produce a three-faced edging, and having points fashioned from the upper face, and to such I make no claim.

Having thus described my invention, what FFIE.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters In testimony that I claim the foregoing as Patent, is my own I aflix my signature in presence of two The herein-described button-hole protector, witnesses.

consisting of the upper plate 0, provided with penetrating-prongs b, and adapted to conform PRENTIGE' t0 the edges of the button-hole A, in combina- Witnesses:

tion with the under plate, 0, substantially as J AS. F. THAYER,

and for the purpose specified. FRANKLIN A. SMITH, Jr. 

